In
this sequel to the Michael Bay produced reboot of the cult-classic franchise,
the titular turtles return to once again face off against the evil Shredder.This
time, the villain has teamed up with both mutants of his own design and a
vicious alien force out to destroy us all.
We Said: “The
appropriately-titled sequel, 'Out of the Shadows', brings every
bizarre facet of their comic book origins into the spotlight for an exercise in
fan service that should leave them satisfied. Newcomers may be left
shell-shocked, though, at the mutagenic madness posing as a plot.” Rating: 3 out of 5
The Good: Having somehow
managed to sit through the first film in Michael Bay’s new Ninja Turtles series, I
can say with absolute certainty that Out of the Shadows is an incredible improvement
over its predecessor. The 2014 film had such a Transformers-style “Bayhem” to it. The movie was a big-budget
adaptation of a silly cartoon and it absolutely hated that, choosing to take
every opportunity it saw to steer into gritty-reboot territory instead of
actually owning up to its own campiness. Fortunately, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out
of the Shadows does a lot to
correct this problematic tone. This actually feels like a Ninja Turtles movie, unapologetically dropping in absurd fan-favorite plot points from the original
series left and right. When it’s staying true to its silly cartoon roots, there’s
some fun to be had with this movie, especially when compared to the
disappointing first one.
The Bad: Unfortunately, “better
than the last one” doesn’t necessarily mean “good.” Out of the Shadows still attempts
a million different tones that just don’t blend together. For example, a somber
subplot about the turtles wishing they were human does nothing to move along
the plot of the movie, and is very difficult to take as seriously as the film
wants you to. While it is nice that the movie includes some of the more outlandish elements of the original
cartoon, it does very little to integrate them into its overall plot, making
it rather hard to follow for audiences new to the franchise. It could be much
worse, but Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows is still an insane, rambling, hard to follow
mess of a movie.
Overall: Grading on a
curve, Out of the Shadows is a major upgrade. Fans of the series will
have fun with the homages to the source material, but the uninitiated might
find themselves a little lost. Ultimately, the movie is entertaining enough. It
could have been worse, but it could also have been a lot better.
Another
better-than-the-first-one sequel, Neighbors 2 reunites us with the
Radners, (Rose Byrne and Seth Rogen) who are now pregnant with their second
child. Unfortunately, the couple’s plan to sell their current house and move
into a larger one is stalled when a new party sorority (lead by Chloe Grace
Moretz and the returning Zac Efron) moves in next door. Once again, the Radners
must face off against their rowdy college neighbors, before they decrease the
market value of their house and lose their potential buyers.
We Said: “[Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising] is the rare case of a comedy sequel that is
even better than the original. ” Rating: 3.5 out of 5
The Good: This is a much
better movie than the original Neighbors on just about every front.
The jokes land harder, the characters are stronger, and Director Nicholas
Stroller pours as much visual comedy as possible into every moment of the
movie. The plot is incredibly progressive, especially for a Seth Rogen “bro-comedy”,
and best of all, it mostly stays away from being preachy about it. The original
2014 film was entertaining enough, but Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising is miles
ahead in every department.
The Bad: While most of the
film is concerned with making the most of the comedic possibilities that the
plot presents, in the third act of the movie the laughs do slow down quite a
bit in an effort to pay more focus to the characters’ relationships and
feelings. This was also the section of the film that does cross over into
explaining to you how forward thinking it is, and patting itself on the back
for it. I had appreciated how quietly progressive it had been at the start, so
coupling this with the more dramatic tonal shift just didn’t work. Many modern
American comedies tend to end their movies with scenes like this, and they
consistently fall flat to me. I was disappointed by the otherwise really awesome
Neighbors
2 falling into such a weak ending.
Overall: When it’s funny, it’s
hilarious, and that’s the case for a great deal of the runtime. It slips a
little toward the movie’s climax, but mostly Neighbors 2 is a
surprisingly solid comedy.
Matthew
McConaughey stars in this historical drama as Newton Knight, a former soldier
of the Confederacy who has a controversial change of heart, and leaves the army
to form his titular “Free State”: a self-contained area where black and white
families can live together in peace at a time of war.
We Said: “Knight's story
has no coup de grace moment, and his cultural impact is dubious at best. While
he remains an interesting and unique figure, his relevance is impossible to
quantify, and Free State of Jones doesn't do much to make it any clearer..” Rating: 2.5 out of 5
